Just after she returns from hanging out with Kevin Spacey, Kevin Bacon and Rem Koolhaas at the AIA Convention in Philadelphia in a few weeks, Jana will be joining in on a panel discussion on Firm Management here with AIA Orange County. Moderated by the one and only Mark Paone, AIA (my first employer after graduation and continued mentor).

I know I am interested in what the big firms have to say and hopefully the reciprocal will be true as well. It's events like these that have the potential to strengthen our nimbleness with new techniques and potential processes.

We are looking for a talented generalist architect or designer (on their way to licensure) with four or more years of professional experience. Our work spans commercial and residential designs of all types and sizes. And as a team we love to pursue great design though innovation, technology and craft. The details are valued as much as the concept. And we enjoy our work, our clients and each other!

We love the opportunity we have to provide a full-time position with benefits in a great workplace community. And you provide strong design skills and sensibilities, proficiency in both written and spoken communication, an interest in working on all phases of a project, proficient knowledge and experience in Revit, organization skills and a smile.

Submittal requirements: We prefer digital portfolios and a cover letter that is simple and to the point!

For the last year we have had the pleasure to demo the Float desk from Humanscale. If you are not familiar with the concept of a sit/stand desk, they raise and lower with a squeeze of your hand on a lever just under the desktop. William has enjoyed his enough to come to the conclusion that we should get more for the office and so we ordered two more Float desks.

Along with ordering two more of these desks we went with a custom desk top option to satisfy our desires for a deep desk space. However, after receiving our desk tops we were immediately concerned with their weight (potentially over 75 lbs). Causing us to wonder if the mechanics of the float desk would be able to handle the weight. After getting them together came the moment of truth, and sure enough the Float worked just fine, easily being able to raise and lower the desks.

Finally I can say we are now a fully functional Float desk office, and standing has become a part of our everyday work flow. I can’t say we are standing all the time or as much as we should be but I can say we all do at least three times a week. The visual reminder of any of us standing usually prompts a standing party and we all join for as long as we feel like standing. We have read the many accounts of standing time and frequency suggestions, but for now we are keeping it casual and not making it feel like a requirement . This keeps the use fun and at random.

Besides standing being healthy for your body during the day, another benefit I noticed is it helps break the day up for me. I don’t have a set time that I stand or a set length I do it for but going between sitting and standing somehow makes the time pass quicker. I know William likes the standing configuration when it comes to him moving from space to space within the office, say from his desk to the conference room, or to make some coffee. This eliminates the constant sitting and standing up and creates a better work flow for him.

We all like these desks here at ITZEN and think it has helped create an interesting dynamic in the office. I would recommend these for any type of open office layout because they are great visual reminders to users as well as a good way to change the feeling of the office.

We're looking for a FULL TIME Beginner (recent graduate) / Intermediate (1-3 years experience) Designer and new Fall & Winter interns!

Here are the skill sets we're looking for in you:

Beginner/Intermediate Designer:1. Design skills and sensibilities. Tell us your story, hopefully there is a passion about architecture in there.2. Proficient knowledge and experience using Revit, Bluebeam, Photoshop, and Apple products. All the basic tools of the profession, including ones we don't know about or use yet.3. Organized. Yes! This is a must. 4. Proficient in both written and spoken communication. In English, other languages are a bonus.5. Real project experience. What have you done and what have you been a part of?

This is a fast paced learning and working studio. We expect you to jump right in! You cannot forget to ask questions to gain a better understanding of the task at hand. You will be expected to manage multiple projects/tasks on a daily basis, frequently switching gears.

Team collaboration is essential.

Interns:1. Design skills and sensibilities. Tell us your story.2. Proficient knowledge using Revit, Photoshop, and Apple products. We prefer to mentor you in architecture not technology.3. Organized. Yes.4. Proficient in both written and spoken communication. In English, other languages are a bonus.Bonus: Experience with making videos. Keeping it simple and tell a story.

We are excited to share with you all the design, all the fabrication and all the smiles that went into creating the new Lojistic headquarters in Costa Mesa, CA.

Over the next couple weeks we are going to unwrap all the various moments that we were able to create with Luke and the myriad of engineers, contractors and fabricators that came alongside of this project.

As an outtake from our photo shoot, I love this photo. It perfectly captures a moment in the office that reflects the precision of design and fabrication CREATING a setting for people to enjoy working together, and even laugh a little!